When Polly Fielding's son Nathan was diagnosed unexpectedly with severe haemophilia, the only thing she could recall about this blood disorder was "One scratch and you'll bleed to death."Based on the premise that knowledge eradicates fear, Polly thoroughly researched the subject, consulting with sufferers, haematologists and haemophilia nurse specialists.Polly takes us from the shock of diagnosis through the difficulties of coping with the reactions of Nathan's brothers and sister, who also have their say in this book.And she shows us how it is perfectly possible to live a normal, happy family life, with haemophilia receding into the background.This book is invaluable for any family where there is child with a disability. It has been recommended by both the London-based Haemophilia Society and the World Federation of Hemophilia. This is the just the kind of book that Polly would have wanted to read (if it had been available) when her small son was first diagnosed with haemophilia - empathic, informative and reassuring.The late Claire Rayner, writer, broadcaster and onetime chair of the Patients' Association, wrote about the paperback edition of this book: "Reading technical books about haemophilia is the easiest thing to do and the hardest way of learning what it is really like to have the disease in the family. This is the book you really need to get a rounded picture of what a very distressing genetic disorder can do to an average family. By all means read the technical books afterwards, but read this one first."
About the Author: Polly Fielding is the author of several non-fiction books (in English) on a variety of subjects of which she has a great deal of personal experience. They include - The 5:2 Diet, Mental Health, Paris and Haemophilia. Many of her books are written in the present tense which gives them a striking immediacy. Over a span of thirty years she has had numerous articles published in national magazines and newspapers. She is also an artist, using both pastel and gouache. 'Poppymania' is evident in her vibrantly colourful pictures as is her passion for the beauty and warmth of summer scenes both in the UK and abroad. Polly has a unusual mixture of professional qualifications being a certified Voice Over Artist and Swedish Body Masseuse. And in a former life she was a teacher in the UK, Canada, Gibraltar and Iran. She had a brief spell as a nanny to two small children in Paris when she was twenty-three. It was during this six- months period that she fell in love with this magnificent city, its culture, cuisine and people. She is married(she met her husband in Gibraltar), has five children and currently divides her time between Yorkshire and Paris. She speaks English, French and German. To find out more about Polly, her books, her art and her most recently published articles, please visit her website: www.pollyfielding.com